Americade anyone?

[dankatz]

I'm thinking about going to this event in Lake George for a 2-3 days (if the wife let me - I happen to have vacation that week). Anybody planning or have gone to it in the past? Is it a worthwhile ride from Boston? It seems like fun and could get some demo rides in...
Dani

 

[jdesro]

A couple buddies and I are going up for a couple days. We tried to go last year, but my buddy crashed on the way there It looks like a good time though and I'm looking forward to going. Nice area up there.

 

[JohnP]

Hi Dani,

I've been to Americade a couple of times. The first time in 2003 I felt a little out of place on my sv650. The majority of riders were on Goldwings. I went again in 2006, this time on my Goldwing and felt a little out of place among all the Harley riders. It definitely has changed. It is still pretty cool and we had lots of fun both times. I would avoid going on the last Friday or Saturday unless you like huge crowds. It takes an hour to go 2 miles up Main Street those days.

They have a pretty big vendor area. We had the Givi folks mount a top case on the back of the SV the first time we were there. There are pin-stripers and mural painters, seat vendors, and a lot of other vendors that can upgrade your bike while you wait.

The second time we were there I won a $300 windshield for my Goldwing which was cool.

The demo rides are very popular, which means you gotta get up early to get in line if you want to demo ride more than one bike a day. I demo'd a FJR1300, ST1300, Goldwing, big ass Harley touring bike just for the heck of it, and 3 or 4 BMWs.

Its a lot of fun walking main street and looking at all the bikes of every sort. But the part we liked best was the riding. Just mile after mile of great riding. We went on a covered bridge group tour through NY and VT, a couple of smaller tours, and rode with friends and just by ourselves. In fact, when we went on the Goldwing, we got up there (4+ hours), got registered, and rode for another 3 hours.

I would recommend getting up there at least once, and since you have vacation, go for it. Getting a room at this late point in the game will be hard, but keep calling. We booked late too and found a room for reasonable $ after calling around.

John

 

[Trouble]

I live about 1 1/2 hours east of Lake George and try to make it over for at least a day. My old man usually leads a GS ride for the BMW group. I've usually found it to be fun, even if it is a bit of a zoo. The vendor areas are great if you are at all thinking of getting anything - the deals are pretty good.